Mid, Part 3

Eventually Mid found the perfect mate, Leo Newman. Mildred’s brother Dale likely introduced the couple. Dale met Leo in 1932 under extraordinary circumstances, as we will see in a future blog. Mid and Leo were married on 24 Sep 1966 in Imperial, Missouri, with Mid’s sister Marguerite Taylor and her husband, Kelley, as attendants. Born 2 Aug 1908 in St. Louis to Jewish Hungarian emigrants, Joseph and Theresa Fox Newman, Leo had been previously married, around 1941 in St. Louis, to Lillian Mae Doyle Bryan, a divorcee with three children. Leo had no children of his own and he and Lillian were divorced in the late 1950s. 

"To Mary Frances and Barbara . . .from their 'Uncle' Leo the Lion"
Given to the daughters of Mid's brother Dale, c1955.

Like Mid, Leo was a marcher to a different beat. In 1932 Leo had navigated a homebuilt houseboat down the Mississippi River in an extraordinary adventure to gather material for a planned book. Then following a stint as a highly successful amateur wrestler, Leo became a professional. Between 1931 and 1965. during the golden age of wresting, “Leo the Lion Newman” fought in 997 matches, often bringing a lion into the ring with him. In 1953, at the height of his fame, he took another trip down the Mississippi on his boat the African Queen with a pet lion, Rex, who he wrestled at sandbars. The purpose of the trip was to search for “something tangible that will help me steer a true course in the events of my future life when I reach journey's end.”

“Best Wishes from Leo and Rex to Dale and Eloise Summers.”
Given to Leo’s brother-in-law and his wife. 

Leo’s wrestling career and life almost ended when, on 25 May 1957, an automobile in which he was riding struck a bridge and went over a steep emankment near Springfield, Missouri, when the driver fell asleep. Years later, on 26 Feb 1963, Leo was awarded $91,558 in a suit against the driver after claiming that he was unable to wrestle because of the injuries. In fact, though his number of bouts decreased, Leo’s last known wrestling match, a tag team competition, occurred in Lincoln, Nebraska, on 18 Aug 1965, well after the accident. But, of course, professional wrestling is a scripted stunt show, though injuries are not unlikely.

By the time he and Mildred were married, Leo had become a well-known wrestling manager and promoter. And he was also a prolific writer, though he never made a dime from that talent. Between 1933 and 1984 Leo authored at least sixty letters printed by Missouri newspapers. The letters, on a range of topics, with an emphasis on animal cruelty, antimilitarism, and nature, were highly intellectual and often poetic. It was probably his literary proficiency that attracted Mildred. It was a marriage of literati.

Leo and Mildred lived out their married life as owners and operators of Love N' Kare Boarding Kennels near Imperial, Missouri. Their business was located in what, at one time, had been a hunting club, something that would have been an abomination to the Newmans. Although established as a business to look after dogs, Love N' Kare was, in fact, primarily a shelter for Leo and Mid’s pets. In 1971 the couple cared for forty dogs, sixty-five cats, half a dozen goats, cows, horses, ducks, doves, and one raccoon. In addition to the extensive menagerie, a 1973 visit found a massive in-home library for the couple’s literary pursuits, a telescope for checking the neighborhood and searching for animals, a notebook listing the names of fifty-four cats (the count at the time), and widespread Christmas decorations that were displayed throughout the year.

Mildred passed away at age 64 on 22 Jan 1976 in St. Louis, and was buried in New Lorimier Cemetery, Cape Girardeau, alongside her parents and other relatives. Leo wrote a memorial that could have easily been for him:

Missie Newman loved all of God's creatures; the birds of the air and the animals of the earth looked to her as their great and unfailing provider. Homeless stray cats and dogs found in her a devoted friend that bestowed upon them life and happiness with a love that transcended all that was human and mortal.

Missie was one of those extremely rare persons that brought out the inherent good in all people. Everyone to her was special and precious. Strangers opened their hearts to her without reservation, knowing instinctively that her concern was genuine, unaffected, and sincere. Her plants and flowers because of their rapport, flourished with the touch of her hand. and now, as she quietly lies in the eternal stillness of earth, the goodness and compassion she bestowed upon others remains her everlasting memorial. No words have ever been coined that can adequately probe the profundity and depth of a grief without end, or, lessen the intensity of sorrow for a life that has returned whence it came. Missie's thoughts and reading embraced everything from the nebula to a stone and her concern and devotion to humane endeavors was never ending and tireless. For a grief stricken husband she was the epitome of all that made life worth living. She now belongs to the ages - for time without end . . and the friend and protector of homeless creatures will surely dwell in the halls of mercy at the right hand of God forevermore . .

Leo lived another sixteen years, dying at his home in Imperial on 5 Aug 1992. He was laid to rest in Shepherd Hills Cemetery, Barnhart, Missouri, with a lion on his marker.

Neither Leo nor Mid had children of their own. Animals were their children.